Person fined after using foghorn to wake sleeping polar bear
Summary
A person was fined in Norway's Svalbard for using a ship's foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear. The fine was imposed because local rules protect polar bears from being disturbed.Key Facts
- The incident took place in Svalbard, a group of islands about 1,000 km from the North Pole.
- Someone on a boat used a foghorn to wake a sleeping polar bear on land.
- The person was fined 50,000 Norwegian kroner (about £3,890).
- Svalbard has rules forbidding unnecessary disturbance of polar bears, protected since 1972.
- Around 250 polar bears live in the Svalbard area, based on a 2015 count.
- The person accepted the fine without dispute.
- In 2024, a tourist was fined for approaching a walrus too closely in the same region.
- The Svalbard Environment Act requires all activities to avoid disturbing local wildlife like polar bears, seals, whales, reindeer, and arctic foxes.
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